QUEBEC CITY, Que. - On Sunday afternoon (Nov. 5) the Guelph Gryphons women's rugby team's 2023 season came to a close as they were defeated by the Queen's Gaels in the U SPORTS Championship Bronze Medal match 36-20. It was the Gryphons and Gaels third meeting of the season, having met once during the regular season and again in the OUA Championship game.
The match opened with the Gryphons getting the board first after rookie
Tausani Levale converted a penalty kick in the ninth minute.
The Gaels answered with a trio of tries to close out the first half, taking a sixteen point lead at the break. Coming out of the second half the Gryphons found themselves being slowed by penalties while the Gaels converted a trio of possessions into points with two tries and a penalty kick making it a 36-3 game. The Gryphons finally broke through the try line in the 63rd minute when
Abigail Auger sprung a long run for the first Gryphon try of the match. With a burst of momentum the Gryphons would make it back-to-back scores just seven minutes later when
Madeleine Hobson was able to retain possession of the ball and find the edge for a try. The final score of the Gryphons 2023 season came in the dying minutes of the match when rookie
Jillian Bernard-Jardine refused to go down just steps away from the try line and forced her way in for the score.
Tausani Levale brought the U of G point total to 20 with a successful convert. Despite the strong finish from the Gryphons their comeback attempt would fall short as they would fall 36-20. Following the conclusion fo the match Abby Auger was named 'Player of the Game' alongside the Gaels' Siobhan Sheerin.
The Gryphons finish the season 4
th in the country after defeating the StFX X-Women in the quarterfinal round in impressive fashion, 29-14, and dropping their semi-final match to the Victoria Vikes 16-0. The Gryphons once again proved themselves to be one of the best women's rugby programs in the nation, qualifying for the U SPORTS Championships after another exceptional season. The regular season saw the Gryphons go 5-1 in OUA play, while also picking up a semi-final win against the Brock Badgers and advancing to their 15
th straight OUA Championship game.
GRYPHONS 13 | GAELS 36
| Team |
Type of Point |
Minute |
Score |
| GUE |
Penalty Kick, Tausani Levale |
9' |
3-0 |
| QUE |
Try, Carmen Izyk (Unsuccessful convert) |
21' |
3-5 |
| QUE |
Try, Lizzie Gibson (Lizzie Gibson convert) |
37' |
3-12 |
| QUE |
Try, Jaden Walker (Lizzie Gibson convert) |
40' |
3-19 |
| QUE |
Try, Carmen Izyk (Lizzie Gibson convert) |
49' |
3-26 |
| QUE |
Try, Jaden Walker (Lizzie Gibson convert) |
55' |
3-33 |
| QUE |
Penalty Kick, Lizzie Gibson |
60' |
3-36 |
| GUE |
Try, Abigail Auger (Unsuccessful convert) |
63' |
8-36 |
| GUE |
Try, Madeleine Hobson (Unsuccessful convert) |
70' |
13-36 |
| GUE |
Try, Jillian Bernard-Jardine (Tausani Levale convert) |
80' |
20-36 |
